A Little Family Fun
by sssms
Summary: Bosco awakens from his coma to find that Sully and Rose are very close. Chaos insues on a family outing.
1. Default Chapter

A Little "Family" Fun, Chapter 1

Premise: The muse needed to work on something a little lighthearted, so….Bosco awakens from his coma (mentally intact, well he'll get there at least, but almost totally paralyzed and unable to speak) to find to his horror that Sully and Rose have become very close. Humor and angst or shall I say humorous angst ensues on a "family" outing to the zoo.

Rated: PG or PG -13

Disclaimers: I do not own them. Thanks to a friend for throwing out ideas that got the muse's beady little brain churning.

Note: Double "quotes" are spoken words, Single 'quotes' are thoughts.

XXXX

"Are we ready to go?" Sully asked, giving Rose a one armed hug.

'Sul? What are you doing here?' Bosco thought, tried to say, but he couldn't get his lips to move, just like he couldn't get his body to move, or this wheelchair to move. He could only move a few fingers on his right hand and that took great effort.

"Yes, we're ready." Rose replied hesitantly, her eyes shimmering with tears.

"Hey" Sully spoke softly, turning Rose's face towards him. "What's wrong?"

Bosco looked on curiously trying to figure out what was wrong with this picture.

"Nothing, I'm ok." Rose replied quickly, wiping her eyes with her hand.

"Rosie?" Sully questioned.

'Rosie?' Bosco pondered.

"I'm ok, John. Really. I guess I'm just…well I'm excited and a little afraid at the same time." Rose confided.

"That's understandable. This is a big step and it won't be easy, but…hey, look at me…" Sully tipped Rose's chin up so he could see her eyes, "I'm here for you, Rose."

"I know. I know, John. You don't know how much that means to me." Rose answered, embracing Sully in a hug which he quickly returned.

'Rosie?' Bosco mentally shook his head.

"So what did the neurologist say?" Sully asked as he stepped back from Rose and looked over at Bosco's blank stare.

"She thinks he may continue to improve very slowly, but she can't say how much better he'll get. She's arranged for physical therapy and speech therapy at home three days a week and then I can work with him the other days."

"We can work with him." Sully reminded her, causing Rose to smile.

"We can work with him on the other days." Rose agreed. "And maybe do other things like take him to the park, anything to get him out of the house and around other people. The doctor says the more exposure he has to people and places he knows, the better chance there is that he'll start to respond.

"Yeah, that makes sense." Sully replied. "So, ready?"

Rose shook her head and Sully turned toward Bosco. "Hey, Bosco. How are you doing today, buddy? Are you ready to go home?"

XXXX

Bosco was startled as the door beside him jerked open and Sully's face suddenly appeared. 'Sul?'

"Hey, Bosco. We're home. Are you ready to get out of here?" Sully chirped.

Bosco looked down, suddenly wondering why he was sitting in the back seat of someone's car in baby blue pajamas with one of Rose's afghans draped over his legs. He pursed his lips slightly intending to ask Sully just that, but couldn't form the words. Looking back up he saw Sully smiling at him and suddenly wondered if ole Sul had himself a new woman. He hadn't seen the guy this happy in years. 'Must be SOME chick.' He mused, the corners of his mouth turning upward slightly.

"Is that a smile I see?" Sully asked. "I guess you are happy to be home. Ok, here we go." Sully reached forward slipping one hand behind Bosco's back. While tucking the afghan in around Bosco's legs, he realized the catheter bag was lying in the floorboard. "Can't forget that, can we?" He almost chuckled, placing the bag in Bosco's lap. "You'd never forgive old Sul for that one, would you? Alright, up we go!" Sully grunted as he lifted Bosco from the seat and moved the few feet to place him in his wheelchair.

As Sully stood up to straighten his clothes, Bosco saw Rose standing before him. 'Ma?'

Rose smiled lovingly at her son, stroking his cheek gently with her fingers, seeing something...perhaps a hint of recognition in his eyes. "We're home, baby. Welcome home."

XXXX

Four weeks later:

"John is such a sweet man. Don't you think, Maurice? He's been a big help to me, especially when….well, when we didn't know how things were going to turn out with you. Here, take one more bite." Rose instructed, pushing a spoonful of applesauce into Bosco's mouth. "Don't frown like that, Maurice. Applesauce is good for you."

Bosco cringed inwardly. Not in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that John Sullivan's new woman would be his mother. But it was obvious that the two had something going on. Sully was all Rose talked about these days. And if she wasn't talking about him, he was there with them. He came over every morning and either helped with Bosco's therapy or visited with Rose while the therapist worked with Bosco. And then he ate lunch with them before leaving for work.

Bosco frowned again as Rose continued to babble as if she were talking to a two year old. He had become much more mentally aware of what was going on around him over the last couple of weeks, but still could not make his body respond appropriately. When he moved his right hand, what little movement he could make, it felt as if it belonged to someone else and he still couldn't manage to form a word no matter how hard he tried. And Rose's talking to him like he was a baby and coddling him was infuriating. He just wanted to tell her to "STOP, MOM! I'M NOT A CHILD! I'M A GROWN MAN!" But he couldn't; much to his dismay he was completely dependent on her. She fed him, bathed him, even cleaned him when he took a dump. Bosco didn't know which was more humiliating, Rose cleaning him or Sully helping with his exercises. But then again, things could be worse. At least he'd never had Sully clean him up after a dump. He had to smile at that thought. Maybe Sully would get enough of him and Rose if he had to do that.

"What's so funny, baby?" Rose inquired seeing the growing grin on her son's face. She was happy that he seemed to be making some progress, although it was very slow. He was actually able to eat some soft foods and thickened liquids now, although she was still supplementing him through a gastric tube. He was moving his right hand more, but at times it seemed more random than purposeful. In fact, his physical therapist had been trying to teach him to maneuver his motorized wheelchair with a hand control but had had little luck. At times he seemed confused about what he was supposed to do and at other times he simply seemed disinterested. When he did manage to get the chair to move, he seemed to have no control over it and had already broken a lamp and a vase. On a good note, he was beginning to show more emotion through his facial expression, but he still couldn't talk. He could make noises, but nothing that sounded like a real word yet; although the speech therapist seemed certain that he was definitely trying to relay something to them. Rose still had to wonder how much of her son was in there somewhere and how much was gone forever. But for now she'd cherish every improvement, no matter how small.

"You like John too, don't you?" Rose asked as she shoved a spoon full of mashed up green peas into Bosco's mouth. "That's good, baby, because I'll tell you, if there was ever anyone for me after your father, I think John may be that special person."

In mid swallow as Rose said this, Bosco gagged then coughed violently, spewing mushy green peas all over the kitchen table.

"Are you ok, Maurice?" Rose questioned loudly as she came to her feet, wiping his mouth with a hand towel and pounding the middle of his back with her other hand.

"There now. That's better. Here, take a drink." She instructed, lifting his thickened cola up for him. "You never did like those green peas, did you? All better now?" Rose asked, as Bosco took a sip followed by a ragged breath. "Maybe that's enough for now. We need to get you cleaned up and ready for bed. We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow." She continued to chatter as she began clearing the table. "John is going to pick us up at 9:00 AM to go to the zoo."

'THE ZOO! The zoo? This is a nightmare….it's worse than a nightmare…I've died and THIS is Hell. Not only is John Doughnut Butt Sullivan after my Ma, but they're actually taking me to the zoo like some overgrown toddler…in this wheelchair…with this CATHETER….and that horrible purple afghan….they're going to parade me around like some freak.' Bosco gasped mentally. 'What did I do to deserve this? What?'

XXXX

"Ok, Bosco, are you comfy?" Sully asked, straightening Bosco's shirt after placing him in his wheelchair.

'Oh yeah, I'm just peachy, Sul.'

"Here. We'll just put this right here and cover it right up." Sully said as he placed Bosco's catheter bag in the seat of the chair beside him and covered them both with an afghan.

'Hey, hands off the equipment, Old Man…..At least Ma picked the blue afghan today.'

"You ready, Rose?" Sully asked, as he stood upright.

"I'm definitely ready. I can't believe I'm this excited. I don't think I've been to the zoo since Maurice was eleven or twelve." Rose replied happily.

"Well, let's get started then. There's a lot more to see now I'm sure." Sully answered with grin.

Bosco rolled his eyes. 'Great…I get to tour the zoo with a couple of teenage love birds.'

XXXX

'How's it hanging, big boy?'

The elephant threw up his trunk and bellowed out sadly as if he'd heard Bosco's question.

'Yeah, my days have been about the same lately.'

The elephant stepped closer to the fence staring intently at the strange human.

'You must feel as trapped behind that fence as I do in this body.' Bosco thought sadly.

The elephant snorted loudly then moved forward again, snaking his trunk through the fence toward Bosco's right hand. He stopped just short as if he was afraid to actually touch the human beast then barely nuzzled his hand.

Bosco jumped slightly as he tip of the animal's trunk touched his fingers. But he was amazed at the gentleness in the massive animal's touch. Moving his hand, he stroked the rough underside of the elephant's trunk causing the elephant to pull back slightly. 'It's ok, boy. I won't hurt you. I can't hurt you.' The elephant responded in turn, nuzzling Bosco's hand again. 'That's it. It's ok.' Bosco reveled in his connection with this animal, suddenly feeling more alive than he had since the day he'd awakened in that hospital bed.

"I think he likes you, Bosco," Sully chuckled.

The elephant jerked his trunk back at the sound of the other human approaching.

Bosco closed his eyes, angry at Sully's interruption, wishing he'd just get lost and leave him and Rose alone.

"Your Mom wants you to see the tiger exhibit. What do you think about that?" Sully asked, pushing the wheelchair towards Rose.

'I think I'd like to feed someone to the tigers. That's what I think. Here kitty kitty.'

XXXX


	2. A Little Family Fun, Chapter 2

A Little "Family" Fun, Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the original characters or places.

XXXX

'Here kitty kitty. Come and get it….I've got a snack for you. Better bring a friend or two, he's a big one….wouldn't want you to die from donut poisoning. What are you waiting for? Huh? Show me those teeth…grrrrrrrrr…that's on now….Rack of Sully….Sully on a stick….'

Bosco watched through the glass partition as the big Bengal tiger lay licking his paws then yawning lazily. 'Wild beast…hmph…you're just a big lazy kitten.'

"He's beautiful, isn't he Maurice?" Rose muttered from behind Bosco, placing one hand on each of Bosco's shoulders.

Bosco wet his lips and opened his mouth to reply, but hesitated. Whenever he tried to speak, the words wouldn't come out, just meaningless sounds that drew everyone's attention. He hated everyone staring at him trying to interpret what he was saying and Rose's look of anticipation that always turned to disappointment. 'Yeah, Ma. He's beautiful' came his silent reply.

"You always did love the tigers." Rose added quietly, stroking Bosco's right cheek with the back of her fingers. She paused, feeling him flinch as her fingers passed over his scar, the same reaction he had when Rose washed his face each day. "Sorry." She muttered, moving her hand back to his shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Everything ok, Rose?" Sully asked, seeing the gloomy look on Rose's face.

"Hmmm…oh, yes, John. Everything's fine." Rose replied with a reassuring smile.

XXXX

Bosco watched on as one of the younger chimpanzees jumped up and down chattering and banging on the glass in front of Sully and Rose. 'Yeah, buddy, that horrifies me even more than it does you.' Bosco thought, seeing Sully holding his mother's hand and talking to her quietly.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Sully asked the chimp, tapping the glass between them himself.

"Maybe he doesn't like spectators." Rose commented.

'Can't blame him for that.' Bosco replied silently, glancing in the direction of the little boy that had been staring at him curiously. He was embarrassed yet relieved when the boy's mother whispered something in his ear and led him away.

XXXX

"Here you go, my lady." Sully placed a tray down on the picnic table in front of Rose. "Two hot dogs, two colas, and one banana strawberry smoothie. And I remembered the spoon."

"Thank you, John. Look, Maurice. You like strawberry, don't you?" Rose commented, pushing a spoon full of the smoothie towards Bosco.

'Oh yeah, that's just peachy, Ma.' Bosco scowled, watching Sully devour his hotdog.

"What are you frowning at, Maurice? This is good for you. And it will hold you over until we get home and I can feed you. Now, open wide." Rose instructed.

XXXX

Rose crumpled her napkin after finishing the last bite of her hotdog. "John, can you watch Maurice for a minute while I go to the ladies room?"

"Sure, Rose. I don't think we can get into too much trouble while you're gone."

"See if you can get him to take a little more of that smoothie, will you?" Rose added as she walked away.

"Um…sure…ok." Sully replied quietly, looking hesitantly over at Bosco.

'Oh great, like I'm going to take it for you. Give me a break.' Bosco clamped his mouth shut. 'I'm sick of this little family outing. Just take me home.'

"Hey, Bosco…um…how about a little more of this?" Sully asked, as he scooted to the end of the bench closest to Bosco and picked up the smoothie, holding a spoonful up to Bosco's closed mouth. "Here….. No?" Sully asked. Seeing that Bosco didn't budge, Sully plopped the spoon back into the fruity drink and sat it back on the table.

Leaning back he drummed his fingers on the picnic table. "Nice day, huh?" He looked around and then back at Bosco. Letting out a sigh, he leaned on his elbows, studying Bosco's face as Bosco stared at him intently. "Look..." Sully said more seriously, "I don't know if you can understand me or not, Bosco. I mean…I'd like to think that you're in there…somewhere….and can understand at least some of what's going on….I really don't know. But I…well, I'm pretty sure I know what you'd probably say if you were at yourself and knew that I was seeing Rose…" Sully looked down at the table, suddenly unable hold Bosco's gaze.

'Oh, you have no idea, fat boy.'

Sully steeled his nerve, finally managing to look Bosco in the eye again. "I'm gonna just come out and say this Bosco, whether you understand me or not. I care about Rose, a lot. In fact….I ….I think I love her." Sully laughed quietly, his cheeks turning red. Looking back down at the table, he nervously picked up the smoothie again and without really thinking pushed a spoonful towards Bosco's mouth.

Bosco sat slack jawed at Sully's revelation and couldn't react quickly enough to keep Sully from shoveling the smoothie into his mouth. 'This….this….this can't be happening….can't….no way…Sully…in love with….this is worse than I thought….'

"I bet that's the last thing you expected to hear from me, huh?" Sully commented, still chuckling nervously.

'This is insane…This is not happening….not happening…'

"Me, John Sullivan, in love with Rose Boscorelli. Do you know what that means, Bosco?"

'NOOOOO! STOP! Don't say it….don't you dare!'

Sully spooned more smoothie into Bosco's mouth.

Bosco knew one thing…that he wanted this conversation to end…NOW. He wanted to shout at Sully, scream at him to shut up and stay away from his mother. But he knew he couldn't and that infuriated him that much more. So he did the only thing he could think of to do to distract the conversation as Sully spooned even more smoothie towards him.

"I sure wish that I knew what you were thinking, Bosco. How much of this you can understand." Sully commented, looking up at Bosco again. He got no answer, except Bosco's blank stare as he drooled smoothie mixed with saliva out the corner of his mouth and onto his shirt.

Sully sighed, placing the smoothie cup on the edge of the table and wiping Bosco's mouth and shirt with a napkin. "Well, I guess there's my answer. Huh?"

XXXX

The two men sat in silence, both lost in their own thoughts until Rose Boscorelli returned.

"What are you two doing?" She asked curiously, placing one hand on each of Sully's shoulders.

"Just waiting on you, Rosie." Sully commented. Turning, he moved one leg so that he was strattling the bench, his back towards Bosco. Then reaching up, he took Rose's hand and guide her to sit on the bench in front of him. "We were just having a little heart to heart." Sully added, causing Rose to glance up at him curiously. "It was sort of a one sided conversation."

"I see." Rose commented. "And what did you talk about?"

Sully held Rose's tiny hand in his large hand, as he rubbed her back gently with his free hand, then he grinned. "Women."

"Women?" Rose smirked. "Well, I'm surprised Maurice didn't find a way to comment on that. Any women in particular?"

"Just this cute little lady I've been seeing." Sully replied, his hand drifting farther down Rose's back.

It was all Bosco could do to keep from vomiting as he watched Sully flirt with his Ma. And when Sully's hand drifted down to Rose's waist, he nearly came unglued. 'HEY! HEY! UH UHHH, DONUT BOY! THAT'S FAR ENOUGH! ENOUGH!' Seeing Rose flirting right back, he suddenly realized how nicely she was dressed for a trip to the zoo. 'MA! FOR THE LOVE OF MARY! YOU'RE IN PUBLIC HERE!'

Bosco watched as the two giggled and talked quietly, their faces getting closer together with each word. 'OH NO! UH UHHH! THAT AIN'T HAPPENING!' Bosco shuddered involuntarily at the thought, looking frantically around trying to figure out how to stop this insanity. When his eyes spotted the smoothie sitting on the edge of the table, just behind Sully, he grinned wickedly. 'You want to play games, Sullivan. Ok, GAME ON!'

He tried to reach forward to the smoothie, moving his right hand what little he could, but it was not enough. 'Have to get closer.' He looked down at the hand control to the wheelchair. 'You can do this Boscorelli. You can do this.' He coached himself, reaching forward slowly and pushing the control harshly causing the wheelchair to jolt forward and toward the right. His knees hit the metal posts holding up the picnic table, but the two love birds failed to notice it. Leaning forward again, he lifted his right arm heavily onto the table and pushed it toward the smoothie.

XXXX

Sully leaned forward closing his eyes as Rose's lips gently brushed his, but he abruptly jerked back at the sensation of something cold and wet saturating the back of his shirt and seat of his pants. "Ahhhhhhhh…"

"What's wrong, John?" Rose asked worriedly.

"Co...Cold…" Sully muttered, jumping up from the bench, feeling the seat of his pants with both hands and trying to twist around to see what was on them. As he turned, he and Rose both saw the smoothie cup and the remainder of the spilled beverage on the picnic bench. Sully suddenly looked up at Bosco in surprise and found him staring off at something in the distance, seemingly oblivious to Sully and Rose. "Did he do that?" a confused Sully asked.

"I don't think so, John. I mean, I don't know how he could have unless he bumped the control to the wheelchair or something. I thought I felt something jar the table earlier." Rose explained.

"Strange" Sully mumbled, grabbing a handful of napkins from the dispenser on the picnic table and turning his attention to his soaked pants.

"Here, let me help you with that." Rose offered. Taking a wad of napkins, she moved behind Sully and began to dab at the seat of his pants.

"ROSE!" Sully jumped, suddenly turning red in the face. "That's fine…I …I can do it. Thanks."

Bosco had been trying to keep a straight face, but seeing the look on Sully's reddening face as his Ma tried to help in her motherly way, he began to laugh. Luckily for him, his laughter sounded more like hiccups and he soon attracted Rose's concern instead of their suspicions.

"Are you ok, Maurice?" Rose questioned, quickly abandoning Sully and moving to her son's side. Holding up his arm, she patted him on the back.

Bosco couldn't help but feel a small sense of triumph at capturing Rose's attention away from Sully.

"I'm just gonna go into the restroom and try to clean up." Sully grumbled, holding a handful of soaked napkins up for no one in particular to see.

"Ok, John. We'll be right here." Rose answered, not looking back at him as she continued to try to get Bosco settled down.

XXXX

"Oh, there you are." Rose noted when Sully finally came out of the men's room. "Any luck?"

"Well, I dried it the best I could." Sully grumped, turning around to show Rose the large wet stain on his shirt and pants.

Rose reached forward almost reflexively and plucked a tiny piece of paper off of his pants. "Sorry." She mumbled, seeing the brief glare on his face. "I'm sorry this happened, John. We can call it a day and head home if you want to."

'YES!' Bosco thought triumphantly.

Detecting the disappointment in Rose's voice, Sully sighed. "No, Rose. There's no need for that. It will dry out soon enough. Besides, there's still a lot more to see."

'Oh, come on, Sullivan. Be a man. You know you're as sick of this little day trip as I am. Take us home, moron. She'll get over it.'

Rose smiled, knowing that John was making concessions for her. "Thank you, John. Thank you for everything. You're such a sweetheart."

'Thank you, John. You're such a sweetheart, John. Come, let me kiss you darling.' Bosco mocked them mentally. 'Somebody shoot me, please.'

XXXX

After touring the bird sanctuary, the three moved on to the reptile exhibits, although Rose made sure they avoided the snakes because Bosco had always been terrified of them. They stopped now beside an outdoor turtle habitat where a short brick wall surrounded a sunken grassy area with a small pond in the middle.

"There's supposed to be a three foot turtle in here." Sully informed Rose. He pushed Bosco's wheelchair up along side the wall, then stepped in front of him to try to spot the turtle.

Rose walked along the wall behind Bosco searching for the giant turtle. "I don't see it, do you?"

"Nope. Not yet." Sully replied, bracing his hands on the top of the wall and leaning over for a closer look.

Bosco was becoming more and more frustrated as he realized he couldn't see very much from his current position. Reaching slowly for the hand control, he pushed it forward slightly causing the wheelchair to jump forward a few inches, but backed off quickly when he realized that he was headed directly towards Sully. Then, as he watched Sully leaning over the wall, oblivious to everything else around him, a wry smile crept across his face. 'This is gonna be too easy.' Shoving the hand control forward again, he charged Sully, slamming into him and causing him to stumble forward over the wall.

Sully, not knowing what was happening but feeling a collision and then himself falling, clung to the wall desperately but to no avail. He fell over the side landing on his hands and knees in a large muddy area.

"JOHN! WHAT? What happened? Are you ok?" Rose shouted, looking over the wall at the shocked look on Sully's face.

"Um…ok, I think." Sully mumbled.

Looking back, Rose saw Bosco going around in circles in his wheelchair. "MAURICE!"

Bosco had slammed into Sully then jerked back on the hand control quickly. In doing so, he turned the wheelchair into a circular path and between his laughing and the dizziness caused by the sudden movement, his mind failed to communicate with his hand to let go of the control. 'WHOA! Whoa! I think I'm gonna be sick.'

"Maurice! Maurice, what are you doing?" Rose shouted, chasing Bosco's wheelchair around in circles. She finally got close enough to pull his hand from the hand control causing the wheelchair to stop. "Maurice? What?" Rose stopped, as she lifted Bosco's head with her hands and saw how pale his face was. "Are you ok, baby?"

'Sick…sick...that was not fun.'

"CRAP!" Sully grumbled from inside the turtle pit, wiping the mud off of his hands on to his thighs as he contemplated how he was going to climb back out since the inside of the pit was lower than the asphalt outside.

"Oh, John. Are you ok?" Rose asked glancing back over her shoulder at him. She chuckled lightly at the disgusted look on his face. "You're not hurt are you?"

"NO…no, I'm not hurt…nothing but my pride. How'd he do that?" Sully questioned, pointing to Bosco.

"I don't know. I think he must have been playing with the control again and it got out of control. He was going around and round in circles." Rose answered.

"SIR, you're going to have to get out of there!"

Sully looked to his right and saw one of the zoo's security guards standing just outside the pit with his arms crossed, an impatient look on his face.

"Civilians are not supposed to be inside the exhibits. These animals can be dangerous. You should know better than that." The guard admonished him.

"I do know better than that. I fell in." Sully replied gruffly. "Can you give me a hand?"

With much effort and a few choice words, the guard finally managed to hall Sully out of the turtle pit while Bosco and Rose looked on. Bosco, having recovered from his nausea, was trying desperately to contain his laughter, knowing that if Sully or Rose noticed him laughing his cover would be blown.

"Have you been drinking, Sir?" The guard questioned seriously.

"What? Of course not." Sully answered incredulously. "I was looking over the wall, trying to find the turtle and something…" Sully glared at Bosco briefly, but Bosco avoided his gaze. "Something hit me from behind and I stumbled over."

The guard glanced at Rose who was shaking her head in agreement, then eyed Sully suspiciously. "Close your eyes, Sir, and touch your finger to your nose."

"Excuse me? You can't be serious?" Sully scoffed, thinking that this was a joke.

"I am absolutely serious, Sir. Now do as I say or I'll have to call for the NYPD."

"NYPD! NYPD! I am the NYPD, you moron!" Sully half shouted.

"John, calm down. I don't think that's going to help." Rose said quietly, seeing the guard's shoulders straighten, his hand reaching for his radio.

"SIR.."

"Sul?"

Rose, Sully and the guard all turned to see Ty Davis looking on curiously, three small boys standing beside him.

"Officer Davis, do you know this man?" The guard inquired.

"Well that depends on what he's done, Max?" Ty answered with a slight grin.

"Funny, Davis." Sully grumbled.

"I found him in the turtle pit and I suspect he's been drinking, but he won't cooperate with the sobriety testing." Max explained, getting a laugh from Ty. "What's so funny?"

"I don't know what he was doing in the turtle pit, but I'm relatively sure he's not drunk, Max. This is my partner, John Sullivan." Ty answered.

"This….this is your partner?" Max asked, looking Sully up and down.

"Yep." Ty replied.

"Well…since he's YOUR partner, I'm going to let this little incident slide. BUT…make sure it doesn't happen again, Mr. Sullivan." Max instructed, causing Sully's mouth to drop open and Ty to laugh again. "You have a nice day, Officer Davis."

"Thanks, Max." Ty chuckled.

"Moron." Sully muttered as Max walked away.

Ty looked at Sully and motioned towards his muddy pants legs. "How?" was all he could get out amidst his laughs. His nephews looked at Sully like he was crazy.

"Don't ask." Sully answered.

"I'm terribly sorry, John." Rose apologized, trying to control her own urge to laugh.

"What are you guys doing here?" Ty asked while trying to corral one of his nephews.

"We just wanted to get Maurice out of the house, Ty." Rose answered, smoothing out Bosco's hair as she spoke.

"Yeah, how's he doing?" Ty asked, stepping closer to Bosco and leaning down in front of him. "H.E.Y..B.O.S.C.O" He said very loudly and distinctively. "How are you doing?"

'I'm paralyzed, Ty. Not deaf or stupid.' Bosco thought.

"He looks great." Ty commented to Rose, as he stood upright.

'Oh yeah, great…wheelchair, catheter and all.'

"Well, I think getting him out and around people is good for him." Rose replied. "He's making some slow progress."

"Are you guys just getting started?" Sully asked, motioning to Ty's nephews.

"Oh no. We've been here since they opened…just finished up at the petting zoo. We're actually about to head out. They've worn Uncle Ty out."

"THE PETTING ZOO ….Maurice always did love the petting zoo!" Rose chirped, the excitement obvious in her voice.

'Mikey always loved the petting zoo, Ma. I just went along with it to make him laugh.'

"The petting zoo?" Sully questioned, obviously less than excited.

"Well, then, maybe you guys should try it." Ty suggested, ignoring the glare Sully cast his way. "It should be fun."

"I think you're right Ty. It will be fun. What do you say, John?" Rose asked.

"Great….that's just great, Rose." Sully answered, giving Ty a look that said he'd deal with him later.

'Great…just great…' Bosco sighed. 'This day is never going to end.'


	3. A Little Family Fun, Chapter 3

A Little "Family" Fun, Chapter 3

Remember "quotes" are spoken, 'quotes' are thoughts.

Thanks to M for some good advice.

Disclaimer: I do not own the original characters or places.

XXXX

'Ok, if you put one more baby chick or fuzzy duckling in my hand, so help me…' "Ahhhchoooo" Bosco sneezed violently. 'Great…just great.'

"Bless you." Sully grumbled.

"Oh, Maurice baby, I forgot that you were allergic to the chicks." Rose apologized and placed the chick back in its cage.

"Ahhhchooo"

"Maybe we should move on, John." Rose suggested.

XXXX

"Look at the goats, Maurice. Aren't they cute?" Rose asked.

'Adorable…adorable…garbage eating mutts.'

"Maybe we can get one closer so he can pet it, John."

"Uh…sure, Rose." Sully muttered, looking at the goats before him and wondering how exactly he was going to accomplish this task. "Shooooo shoooo.." Sully waved his arms trying to get one of the smaller of the goats to move towards Bosco.

'Now who's the moron?' Bosco commented silently, a grin on his face.

When the goat headed in the opposite direction from Bosco, Sully moved after him, nudging him gently with his hands to try to turn him. "Not that way, this way. Come on now you stubborn…OUCH! HOLY CRAP!" Sully shouted as he jolted upright clutching the back of his pants. "WHAT….HEY! STOP THAT! OWW! CRAP!"

"JOHN?" Rose stood in shock watching the scene before her.

Bosco was nearly hysterical with laughing hiccups as he watched Sully fight off the killer goat that was trying to eat the backside of his pants. 'Goats like smoothies, who woulda thought?'

Sully finally managed to get the first goat detached, only to have several others join in on the fun by licking or nibbling at his backside. "GET BACK! GET BACK! OWW, YOU LITTLE…"

"Shooo…Shooo….bad goats!" Rose swatted at the goats with her purse trying to help Sully out.

"STOP! STOPPPP!" Sully continued to shout, hitting at the goats with his zoo map, only to have one of them grab the other end of the paper in its mouth and start to tug at it.

By this time, Bosco was laughing so hard that his face turned red and he somehow managed to get strangled on his own saliva. He coughed violently between chuckles that still sounded much like hiccups.

"Maurice?" Rose called out, turning from her attempts to rescue Sully from the attacking goats and rushing to Bosco's side. "Are you ok, Maurice?" She asked in concern, lifting his left arm and patting him on the back.

When Bosco finally managed to regain some composure, he looked up, his eyes briefly meeting Sully's as the other man continued to fight off the goats. Grinning, he could not resist the urge and gave Sully a one finger salute.

Sully's mouth dropped open in shock. 'WHAA……DID…Did he just…..He shot me the bird! Son of a ….' Sully was momentarily elated. He had been hoping for months to see some sign that the old Bosco was still in there and that was definitely a sign. "Rose! He…" Sully called out to her to tell her the great news, but his sentence was cut short as one of the goats bit him on the butt, hard. "AHHHH…"

Sully turned, swinging his arms wildly at the goat, then looked back towards Bosco to see him… 'laughing….why you little….' Finally recognizing Bosco's "hiccups" for what they actually were, Sully's face grew hard as he remembered the smoothie incident and his little tumble into the turtle habitat, realizing now that Bosco was to blame for both.

His own face reddening, Sully charged forward, circling around a startled Bosco to grab the handles of the wheelchair. "COME ON, ROSE!" He shouted, pushing Bosco through the goat pen and into a long barn that had stalls filled with animals along both sides. Once they were clear of the goats, Sully stopped, moving around to face Bosco, his face now beet red

"John, what's wrong?" Rose questioned, obviously alarmed.

"WHAT'S?…..WHAT'S?…..He….." Sully stammered, then took a deep breath, seeing the confused look on Rose's face as she stood with one hand on Bosco's shoulder, looking back and forth between the two of them. How was he going to explain this to Rose? Bosco would play dumb for sure and Rose would think he was crazy. In fact, Bosco was drooling on himself again at this very moment. 'Crap' She would never believe that he had done those things on purpose. Sully stood a moment baffled about how to handle this, but then a little light bulb clicked on. 'Ok, Bosco. If you want to play this little game, that's ok. Two can play. Game on!'

Bosco tried to maintain a straight face, believing that he had won this battle and wanting so badly to smirk. But his face turned serious as he saw a mischievious grin tugging at the corners of Sully's mouth and an almost evil glint in his eye. 'Uh oh…'

"John?" Rose questioned. "Are you ok?"

"Um…Oh, yeah, Rose. Boy, those goats are vicious aren't they." Sully answered with a broad smile. 'Only not as vicious as I'm going to be.' He thought as he smiled back down at Bosco.

XXXX

Bosco sat nervously as Sully pushed his wheelchair, wondering what Sully was going to do. Sully had become entirely too calm and too happy.

Bosco looked up at the sign on the stall in front of him as Sully stopped the wheelchair. 'Stinky…hmph.' He jumped slightly as Sully leaned over his shoulder, reaching for one of the wires on the wheelchair's power hand control.

"Look at the pretty piggy, Maurice. Why don't you stay here and visit while Rosie and I take a look around?" Sully whispered in Bosco's ear as he yanked the wire loose.

Bosco scowled, although Sully didn't see it.

"Hey, Rosie, look." Sully put his arm around Rose, ushering her away from Bosco and towards a stall holding a cow and calf.

"Oh, isn't it cute, John." Rose commented.

'Oh, isn't it cute, John.' Bosco mocked. 'Somehow I'm thinking you're going to be better company anyway, Stinky.' He spoke silently, watching the huge pig in the stall in front of him. 'You don't actually smell that bad anyway…' he thought, then frowned as he heard a very distinctive sound coming from the stall. Wrinkling his nose up, as the pungent odor hit him, he nearly gagged. 'Ok, maybe I was wrong…Wow! What did you eat? I'm gonna be sick. Sul…Ok, Sul, game's over…..Uggghhhhh…'

Bosco reached for the hand control, frantically trying to get it to work even though he knew it would not. He leaned back, as far as he could from the stall as Stinky let another one rip. "Ugghhhhh….Suuuuuu…...Mmmmammaaa…… Jaaaa….gggffff." He tried to call out to Sully and his Ma, but couldn't get their attention. "JAGGHHHH!" Furious now at the predicament Sully had left him in, he banged his right hand hard on the armrest of the wheelchair.

"Maurice? What? Oh….John…do you smell that? Mercy…" Rose muttered, fanning her nose, as she and Sully approached Bosco. "Have you had an accident, Maurice?" She asked, looking down at Bosco seriously.

'MAAA' Bosco gave her an incredulous look.

"Let me see." Rose muttered, moving behind Bosco and pulling on the waistband of his jogging pants and the adult diaper she'd put on him to peer down them.

'MAAAAAA…STOP!'

"It's so dark in this place." Rose, being the determined mother that she was, ran her hand tentatively down into the diaper to make sure that he'd not had an accident.

"MMMAAAMMMAAAGGGHHH!" Bosco stiffened as his mother's ice cold hand touched his backside. 'WE'RE IN PUBLIC HERE! ARE YOU CRAZY!' He squeezed his eyes closed, wishing he would just disappear even though there was no one else in the immediate vicinity.

"Sorry, Baby. My hands are a little cold, huh?" Rose asked.

Sully was on the verge of loosing all control, reduced to holding himself upright by grabbing onto Stinky's stall, as he watched Rose. Finally, the look on Bosco's face became too much and even Sully began to feel sorry for him.

"Rose, I don't think it's him. I think that Stinky must have been named appropriately." Sully chuckled, pointing to the pig.

Bosco's eyes popped open, shooting daggers at Sully. 'Now you say something? You're a dead man, Sullivan.'

XXXX

"Look, Bosco. A long lost cousin." Sully commented quietly, pushing Bosco's wheelchair up beside the metal gate of the donkey's pen.

'Funny, Sullivan. That's real funny.'

"Ezmeralda? What a funny name for a donkey." Rose laughed quietly.

"Oh look, Rose." Sully motioned for her to follow him over to another stall where he'd spotted a newborn colt.

'That's great…nevermind me…I'll just visit with Ezmeralda here. You two have fun….' Bosco rolled his eyes. 'So, what's up?' He looked up at the Ezmeralda to see her craning her neck over the gate to sniff at him.

'Ok, that's close enough.' Bosco thought, but apparently Ezmeralda didn't agree. She inched forward until her wet nose touched his cheek gently. Bosco jerked his head to the side. 'Hey…whoa…that's close enough…get back now.'

But Ezmeralda would not be deterred. She brayed at him and rolled her lips up showing her teeth. Then, much to Bosco's surprise and dismay, she licked his cheek. 'Ahhh….ok, that's gross…stop that…uh uh…..get away.' Bosco leaned further away, but Ezmeralda was persistent. Moving forward, she continued licking his neck, the side of his face, even his hair. 'STOP, you stupid donkey!' Bosco raised his right hand slightly, trying to swat at the animal. Then looking across the barn he spotted Sully grinning at him while Rose was preoccupied with the baby colt.

'You think this is funny, huh? Yeah, it's really funny. I'll get you back for this, Sullivan.'

'Payback, Bosco. Oh, what fun. Yeah, this little day trip was worth it after all.' Sully laughed quietly, seeing the look on Bosco's face and knowing how furious he must be. But then it got even better as a look of horror came over Bosco's features when Ezmeralda began to nibble on his ear.

'WHOAAAA! WHOAAAA! OK STOP! STOP RIGHT THERE! STOP, YOU CRAZY BEAST!" Bosco shivered violently. 'Ok, I'm not really into this, Ezmeralda. You're not my type, ok. Hablo Ingles? No likey donkey. Not my type!' Looking back to see Sully laughing at him, Bosco again shot daggers at him with his eyes.

'Boy I wish I could read your mind right now, Bosco.' Sully's belly jiggled as he tried to suppress his laughter so Rose wouldn't notice.

'Man do I wish you could read my mind right now you fat lazy donut eating piece of …' Bosco jumped as Ezmeralda nibbled his ear lobe once more. 'You're a dead man, Sullivan! A dead man!'

XXXX

"Well, that was fun, wasn't it, Maurice?" Sully asked as he waited with Bosco in his room, while Rose went to get a wet cloth to wipe his face before putting him down for a nap. Seeing Bosco yawn, he added, "Need to get you down for your nap, so Rose and I can have a little 'quiet' time." Sully wiggled his eyebrows at Bosco, earning another glare.

Sully chuckled, then seeing the wire hanging down from the wheelchair's control box, he stepped forward. "I guess we'd better connect this back so Rose doesn't notice it, huh?"

'Yeah, you'd better.' Bosco thought, waiting anxiously as Sully reconnected the wire. Once he did, Bosco grabbed for the control, thrusting it forward, ramming the chair into Sully until he had him pinned against his dresser. "JAAAGGGHHHH" He screamed at a very surprised Sully.

"WHOA! BOSCO!" Sully reached down grabbing for Bosco's hand, trying to stop him from running the chair into him over and over.

"JAAAGGGHHHUUHHH"

"STOP! Stop, Bosco! What are you doing?" Sully shouted. He finally managed to grab the control and move the chair backward, but when he did Bosco caught Sully's arm with his right hand, twisting his sleeve and hanging on to him, their faces only few inches apart.

"JAAAGGGHHHHH….JAAAGGGHHHH"

"What are you trying to say, Maurice?" Sully asked quietly as Bosco turned red.

"JAAAGGGHHHH…"

"Come on, Bosco. COME ON! SPIT IT OUT!"

"JAAAGGGHHHH…..OGGHHHHH"

"WHAT? I don't understand! COME ON! SPIT IT OUT, SONNYBOY!"

"JAAAGGGG…OFFFHH!" Bosco spat, then suddenly grew quiet, a startled look on his face.

Sully stared back at him, shocked as well, then he began to grin.

"Jaaaggg…off." Bosco repeated, almost in a whisper, hot tears suddenly finding their way down his cheeks.

"Well it's about time. Welcome back, Bosco." Sully replied quietly, clapping Bosco on the shoulder with his free hand.

"John? Maurice?" Rose stood in the doorway, staring at the two of them, seeing Bosco's red tear stained face, his grip on Sully's arm, and Sully hovering over him. "What's going on?" She asked, somewhat alarmed.

"Maybe Maurice should tell you." Sully answered, stepping back as Bosco released him.

"Maurice?" Rose looked at Bosco confused, reflexively stepping forward as his gaze met hers.

"MMAAAAA"

Rose froze, her mouth dropping open. "Maurice, you're talking. Oh, my baby, you're talking!" Running to him, she cupped his face in her hands, kissing his forehead and his cheeks frantically. "You're talking." She laughed between kisses.

"Maaaa" He said again quietly. "Maaa….sstt…oppp."

"Don't you 'ma stop' me, Maurice Boscorelli." Rose instructed, standing back and looking at him with her first real smile in months. "It's a miracle." Turning to Sully, she added, "Oh John, it's a miracle. My baby's back."

"I know. I know, Rosie." Sully replied, pulling Rose into a hug.

Rose pulled back slightly, looking up into Sully's face. "You said from the beginning that he'd get better and you've stuck by us, John. Thank you." Rose almost whispered, leaning in and kissing Sully's cheek before wrapping her arms tightly around him.

'Hey….hey now, wait….what about me…I'm the miracle here….what….great…that's just great.'


	4. A Little Family Fun, Chapter 4 of 4

A Little "Family" Fun

Chapter 4 of 4

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters or places.

XXXX

Six month's later:

Bosco sat, tapping the end of his cane on the floor, watching Sully study the glass of water he was twirling in his hands. Clearing his throat, he asked, "You ready, Sul?"

"Hum?" Sully looked up and swallowed dryly.

"Are you ready to go? They're going to need this table. We've been sitting here for over an hour." Bosco answered.

"Oh, yeah." Sully muttered. "NO…wait!" Sully called out, grabbing Bosco's arm as he started to stand up. "Wait…ummm…I need to talk to you…about…about something." Sully stammered.

Bosco sat back down in the booth with a sigh, leaning the cane against the seat.

Sully started twirling his glass again.

Bosco tapped his fingers on the tabletop waiting for Sully to speak. Finally, he couldn't take it any longer. He knew why Sully had invited him out for lunch and what Sully wanted to talk to him about. "Just spit it out, Sul." He grumbled, reaching across the table and snatching the glass from Sully's hand, placing it on his side of the table out of Sully's reach.

Sully grabbed his napkin and began twisting the edge of it. His gaze finally met Bosco's and he licked his dry lips. "I umm….I guess you know why we're here Bosco." Sully commented quietly.

Of course he knew, but he wasn't going to let Sully off that easily, so Bosco crossed his arms across his chest and shrugged.

"Well, I ahhh….your mother and I….well…." Sully paused briefly as the napkin in his hand disintegrated. He cleared his suddenly parched throat. "Ahh…Rose and I …well… um…we were a… thinking ….that we might like to ah ..get…m..married….umm…if…if that's alright with you, Bosco." Sully finished quickly, looking up at Bosco with wide eyes, waiting for the explosion.

Bosco swallowed hard. Even though he knew what Sully was about to say, it still seemed shocking. He hesitated a moment to steady his voice. "You…you don't need my permission to marry her, Sullivan. She's a grown woman."

"No…no, I know…but she…...we…wanted your blessing, Bosco." Sully shrugged, suddenly feeling very foolish and not really knowing what else to say.

"Do you still think you love her?" Bosco asked quietly.

"What?" Sully questioned.

"At the zoo….you told me that you 'thought' you loved her. Do you still 'think' that?" Bosco clarified, suddenly twisting his own napkin.

"Oh…um….No….no, Bosco. I don't think I love her. I mean, I thought I loved Tatiana. I…I liked her a lot and I learned to love her, despite our problems, but…..I didn't love her….at least…not at first. But Rose….Rose is different. I don't 'think' that I love her, Bosco. I know I love her….more than anything in this world." Sully smiled softly. "She's funny…kind….beautiful….spunky. She's the first person I think about every morning and the last person I think about every night. She even invades my dreams…"

"WHOA! Whoa!" Bosco threw his hands up and scrunched his face. "I don't need that visual, donut boy."

Sully chuckled, then became more serious as his eyes met Bosco's once more. "I love her, Bosco. And I would never…ever hurt her. I hope you know that."

XXXX

"Nice place, Bosco." Ty commented, looking around Bosco's new apartment.

"Yeah, it's not the same as the old place. But it's mine, so…"

"You didn't have to move out just yet, you know." Rose interjected. "There would still be plenty of room for you at my place after the wedding."

"Maaaa…I'm not going to live with you and Sully. We've already talked about that. I'm able to take care of myself now. Besides, if I want to experience the mating of the wildebeest, I can watch it on TV instead of listening to it in the room next door."

"MAURICE!" Rose shouted and blushed, swatting at Bosco's arm.

Ty tried to stifle a laugh, as Sully muttered something about having furniture to move and headed towards the door.

Rose sighed and followed Sully. "There's no denying that you're Anthony Boscorelli's son, that's for sure."

XXXX

"You ready?" Bosco asked quietly.

"I'm as ready as I'm ever going to be." Rose chuckled. "How do I look?"

"You look beautiful, Ma." Bosco answered, taking Rose's hands in his.

"You look awfully handsome yourself, Maurice." Rose replied, looking at Bosco's black suit.

"Yeah" Bosco commented softly.

"What's wrong, Maurice?"

"Nothing, Ma" Bosco answered, forcing a smile.

"Do you think that I believe that, Maurice? I know you, baby. What's wrong?" Rose coaxed.

"Nothing, Ma…it's just…."

"Just what?"

"It's just…I don't know… I feel like I'm losing you…" Bosco whispered, looking down at his feet.

"Oh, baby." Rose leaned forward, placing her hands on both sides of his face, pulling his forehead down to hers. "You're not losing me, Maurice. That will never happen. You're my baby. My first love…. always. John can't change that and he doesn't want to. He cares about you too. So don't you ever worry about losing me. Ok?"

Bosco shook his head slightly. "I know. I know, Ma." He hugged Rose close. "I just needed to hear you say it, I guess."

XXXX

"I can't believe you're having a church wedding." Ty whispered.

"Bosco's idea." Sully muttered, straightening his tie for the tenth time.

"Bosco? You're kidding."

"No, I'm not. Said no mother of his was going to run off to Atlantic City with John Sullivan to get married."

Ty chuckled lightly.

Sully cleared his throat, looking up the isle of the small church as Rose entered the sanctuary on Bosco's arm. Ty followed his gaze.

"She's beautiful." Sully said softly.

"Yeah"

XXXX

Bosco cleared his throat as the priest asked who gave this woman to be married. "I…I do." He hesitantly placed Rose's hand in Sully's, leaning over to give Rose a kiss on the cheek, then leaning over to Sully to whisper something in his ear.

Sully was shocked to hear Bosco's 'welcome to the family, Sul' instead of the 'if you hurt her, I'll kill you' that he expected.

XXXX

"Ty, have you seen Bosco?" Sully asked. "We're getting ready to leave and Rose wants to tell him goodbye." Sully was ready for the reception to end and the honeymoon to begin.

"Did you find him?" Rose asked, stepping up beside Sully and wrapping her arms around his.

"No, I was just asking Ty." Sully looked back to see Ty pointing across the room.

"I think he's a little preoccupied." Ty commented with a grin.

Sully and Rose looked across the room to see Bosco slow dancing with one of the hostesses. His cane was hung over the back of a nearby chair. The hostess, a beautiful tall blond, twirled her finger through the back of his hair and giggled at something he whispered in her ear.

"The Boscorelli magic at work." Ty noted, causing Sully and Rose to laugh.

XXXX

The End. Hope you enjoyed.


End file.
